Adrian Sutil: “If a car is good in Sepang, then it will be fast on other tracks as well”

Adrian Sutil is hopeful that the Malaysian Grand Prix will be a good indication of Sauber’s potential for the remainder of the season, with the German stating that a good car around the Sepang International Circuit should allow the team to be competitive elsewhere throughout the 2014 season. During the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Adrian Sutil finished 11th ahead of team-mate Esteban Gutierrez in 12th.

Although both Sauber drivers managed to finish the season-opener in Melbourne, the Hinwil-based outfit struggled to produce serious pace throughout the weekend despite running Ferrari power. With the team still unhappy with the performance of the car, both Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez are targeting continued improvements during the forthcoming Malaysian Grand Prix around the Sepang International Circuit. Due to the high-speed and fast flowing nature of the 5.543km circuit, Adrian Sutil firmly believes that should the C33 perform well in Malaysia then it should also perform well on most of the remaining tracks on the 2014 calendar.

“Malaysia is one of the hottest races during the season, and, as a result, a challenge because of the high humidity,” explained Adrian Sutil. “You have to be well prepared, as, especially at the end of the race, you notice the difference. The track consists of many fast turns, long straights and a few hairpins, which make it quite an interesting one. I am curious to drive the car on this track where the aerodynamics play a huge role. This is important in order to get to know where we stand. If a car is good in Sepang, then it will be fast on other tracks as well. You need everything here – good aerodynamics, grip in the corners and high speed on the straights. The aerodynamic efficiency of the car is a key. Generally, my hope is that we improve from race to race. In Malaysia, the main objective is to get better and to make a step forward.”

With Sauber’s lap times considerably slower than their rivals at Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat at the Australian Grand Prix, the Hinwil-based outfit will understandably be hoping that their Ferrari-powered C33 machine excels on the much faster Sepang International Circuit. Despite their struggles in Melbourne, Sauber will not be introducing any major upgrades next time out in Malaysia as they continue to work on improving their software and set-up to continue enhancing their braking. Due to the smooth characteristics of the Sepang International Circuit, the team is optimistic that their first points of the season could be attained as improvements are expected to be witnessed up and down the paddock during the second race of the season in Malaysia.